Surprise salsa looks great on the table--and it does surprise!

It was a surprise, all right—cantaloupe, watermelon, mango, red onion, cilantro, jalapeno, mint, and cucumber? All in one salsa?

I was enjoying Southern Living’s recent contest for readers to submit their very best summer side dishes. The contest included a “Best Surprise” category: something off-the-wall and unexpected that took the appraisers by storm.

The winning reader submitted her version of a “Sweet, Salty, and Spicy Watermelon Refresher”. She stated that the dish is a rehydrater on summer days and helps cleanse the palate from barbecue or other picnic fare. I had to try and see.  

We served this with grilled chicken at our July 4th luncheon. It made volumes and literally was as tasty a week later (having been refrigerated in an airtight container) as it was on firecracker day. I didn’t have the jicama called for but was able to locate everything else to toss into this colorful mix. And talk about a beautiful presentation on the table!

A winner by my estimation; I love surprises.

Sweet, Salty, and Spicy Watermelon Refresher

1/4 cup fresh lime juice

1 tablespoon turbinado sugar

2 tablespoons fresh orange juice

1 jalapeno or 2 serrano peppers, seeded and minced

1/2 teaspoon sea or kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper

1 small red onion, diced

1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro

2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh mint

1 small seedless watermelon

1 small cantaloupe

2 English cucumbers

1 jicama

2 mangoes

Combine lime juice and next 5 ingredients. Place red onion, cilantro, and mint in a large bowl. Dice watermelon and cantaloupe into 1-inch pieces; add to bowl. Peel and dice cucumbers, jicama, and mangoes; add to bowl. Stir in lime juice mixture. Cover and chill 20 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Makes 10 to 12 servings. (Source: June 2012 Southern Living)

Shrimp, berries, mango slivers—a few of my favorite things

An afternoon with breezes straight off the water, a campfire in our pit for the first time this summer, dinner on our deck at our lake place—these were some happenings that made my Mother’s Day special.

Content to hatch up my own Mother’s Day meal (we had been out to dinner the Friday night before), I chose a menu that included blackened shrimp on skewers alongside mango slices and our own fresh blackberries. A mint-lime drizzle that used mint from our herb garden was the crowning touch.

How happy I was to be able to use our abundant blackberry crop for this unique purpose. The berries and mango formed a wonderful go-together with the shrimp. This recipe couldn’t have been easier, so toil over food preparation didn’t mar the holiday.

Love those blackberries with shrimp.

Grilled Blackened Shrimp Skewers

36 unpeeled, large raw Gulf shrimp (about 1 pound, 26/30 count)

1 teaspoon olive oil

2 teaspoon Cajun blackened seasoning 18 (6-inch) wooden skewers

36 fresh blackberries

18 fresh mango slices

Mint-Lime Drizzle:

1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon sugar (or sugar substitute)

1/8 teaspoon salt (or salt substitute)

Preheat grill to 350 to 400 degrees (medium-high) heat. Peel shrimp; leave tails on; devein, if desired. Place shrimp in a large bowl and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with seasoning; toss to coat. Grill shrimp, covered with grill lid, 2 to 3 minutes on each side or just until shrimp turn pink. Thread each skewer with 2 grilled shrimp, 2 blackberries, and 1 mango slice. Brush with Mint-Lime Drizzle, if desired. Makes 4 to 6 servings. (Source: Southern Living, May 2012)

Mango Chicken Salad served in brioche molds a highlight of afternoon

I was planning a fun afternoon, so I wanted to serve something memorable. My mentor in quilting instruction was stopping by for a Ladies' Lunch and an afternoon of stitching in my garret—my sewing and crafts room out back. I wanted a dish that made use of our embryonic spring garden, which we had to walk past on the way to our retreat locale.

I found the cutest recipe for servings of chicken salad stuffed into brioche crusts. The chicken salad contained mango, slivered almonds, water chestnuts, and most importantly, fresh green onions. We have yet to plant the first tomato (unseasonably warm weather aside, Hubby still sticks to the "wait-till-after-Easter" rule), but our onions are everywhere in that promising soil. Pull up one and chop up the tops; you have an ingredient that totally enlivens any recipe.

Southern Living introduced this recipe in its recent "Easiest, Pretties Brunch" feature. The food item was to be made with mango chutney, but our local Kroger informed Hubby, on his hunt for it, that the store no longer carried mango chutney because the chutney turned brown too quickly. Wal-Mart carried it in its relish section but priced at more than $4 for a small jar.

Never mind. I chopped up part of a fresh mango as a substitute and left the remainder of the mango for Hubby’s smoothies.

The magazine shows the salad stuffed into little crusts (I made mine in individual ramekins) but suggests that it would be just as good atop fresh spring greens. Using half a package of refrigerated pie crusts made quick work of making the brioches, which easily pop out of the ramekin dishes when you lightly spray the molds beforehand.

A lovely Ladies' Lunch paved the way for a beautiful afternoon to sit 'n sew. My Sunbonnet Sue quilt is progressing.

Mango Chicken Salad

(appeared as Chutney Chicken Salad, February 2012 Southern Living)

1/3 cup slivered almonds

1 cup mayonnaise (I used the lite variety)

1/2 cup Greek yogurt

1/3 cup mango chutney (I used 1/3 cup chopped fresh mango)

1 tablespoon curry powder

1 teaspoon salt (or salt substitute)

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

5 cups diced cooked chicken

1 (8-ounce) can sliced water chestnuts, drained

4 green onions, chopped (about 1 cup)

1/2 (14.1-ounce) package refrigerated pie crusts

garnish: thinly sliced green onions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake almonds in a single layer in a shallow pan 5 to 7 minutes or until toasted and fragrant. Stir halfway through. Cool for 20 minutes. In a large bowl whisk together mayonnaise and next 5 ingredients. Add chicken, next 2 ingredients, and toasted almonds. Toss until well-blended. Cover and chill 2 to 24 hours. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Cut piecrust into 8 (4 1/2-inch) rounds. Press each dough round into a lightly greased 3 1/2-inch brioche mold. Press dough up sides. Fold dough over edge of molds and pinch to secure. Arrange molds on a baking sheet. Bake at 450 degrees for 8 minutes or until lightly browned Cool pastry shells in molds on a wire rack 1 minute. Loosen shells from molds (use a small knife); remove shells from molds to a wire rack and cool completely, about 20 minutes. Just before you serve, fill cooled pastry shells with chicken salad. Makes 8 servings.